Golf-club.



JOHN L. HUDSON, 0F IBELLEVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

GOLF-CLUB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 97, 1917.,

Application filed December 28, 1915. Serial No. 68,373.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. Henson, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at the town of Belleville, in the county of Essex andState of New Jersey, have made a certain new and useful Invention inGolf-Clubs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to golf clubs, and more particularly to thoseknown as drivers or brassies, with which the longest strokes are usuallymade.

The object of the invention is to provide a golf club of suchconstruction as will automatically correct variations in the directionor course and altitude of flight of a ball when driven by a stroke, dueto variations in the handling-of the club.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination,location and relative arrangement, all as will be more fully hereinafterset forth, as shown in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointedout in the appended claims.

As heretofore made, the striking face of a golf club, known as a driveror brassy, has been made a plane surface, usually scored, checked orindented for the purpose of preventing the ball from slipping on thestriking face of the club in the act of play. This striking face of theclub is sometimes more or less inclined from the perpendicular,rearward, so that when the ball is struck or driven with the club, itwill tend to rise from the ground, the inclination of the striking faceofthe club rearward being different in different clubs, to give to theball the desired degree of elevation in flight.

In the act of striking the ball, the club is swung in almost a completecircle, from above the shoulder of the player, downward, striking theball at about the center of the circle of swing, and thereaftercontinuing forward and upward. The area of the striking face of the clubis usually relatively small, being approximately equal to or slightly inexcess of that of a half section of the ball. Obviously a very slightvariation in the angle of the club, orof the striking face thereof, tothe line of direction in which it is desired to drive the ball, willresult in wide variation in the line of flight of the ball, it being notuncommon for a ball to be driven two hundred yards at a stroke, andoften entirely out of the fairway, or proper course.

The special object of my invention is to provide a structure of clubwhich will reduce this variation, and secure more accurate direction ofthe flight of the ball, in the desired course. To accomplish this I makethe striking face of the club slightly concave in both its horizontaland vertical directions, the angle of inclination in the different clubsbeing maintained. The effect of this is to present to the ball astriking face that, because of this peculiar construction will not pullor slice the ball out of the proper course. If, in the act of driving,the hands are carried too far ahead, before the club strikes the ball,instead of driving the ball to the right of the course, the concavity inthe horizontal direction of the striking face presents the proper angleto the ball to keep it on the course. .So, also, if the head of the clubbe carried ahead of the hands, instead of being pulled to the left, theball, striking on the inner side of the concave face, is kept in itsproper direction. The same principle applies, also, to the angle ofelevation, the correction of error, if any, in the stroke beingautomatically corrected by the vertical concavity in the striking faceof the club.

Tnthe act of driving the ball, at the moment of impact the ball,striking on the concave surface of the striking face of the club, thecurve of the face of the club being in contact with the curved surfaceof the ball, the ball receives more driving force because of theincreased area of contact with the club, and thereby is driven farther,as well as more accurately.

On the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, illustrates a driver, and Fig.2, the iron head of a club known as a cleek. Fig. 3 is a cross sectionof the head of the driver, on the line 3-3 as shown in Fig. 1, and showsthe concave face in the vertical direction. Fig. 4 is a cross section ofthe head of the driver, on the line 4-4 in Fig. 1, and illustrates theconcave face in the horizontal direction.

The striking face of the club, indicated by the letter A in Figs. 1 and2, being, in accordance with my invention, slightly concaved in itsvertical direction, as indicated by B in Fig. 3, and in its horizontaldirection, as indicated by C in Fig. 4.

The drawings correctly illustrate the degree of concavity I preferablyapply, but this may vary to meet the requirements of individuals, and Ido not limit my invention to any particular degree.

.While I have described my invention as applied to a driver or brassy itis to be understood that I do not limit myself to such application, asother kinds or classes of golf clubs may also be concaved in one or bothdirections on their striking surface, in embodiment of my invention.

in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, 25

this second day of December, 1915.

JOHN L. HUDSON. Witnesses:

RICHARD P. SOAINE, J r., JOHN BURNS.

